Public Whip Count

May 23, 2010

The Rand Paul reality for gays

Posted by: Chris

Some Republicans are trying to brush it off as the kind of debate you
have in you freshman dorm at 2 a.m. Not so for us gays.

The objection
raised by Rand Paul, the GOP Senate nominee from Kentucky, to the role
of government in the enforcement of civil rights laws in the private
sector is very real, and has been raised repeatedly by conservative
Democrats and Republicans alike to explain away their opposition to the
Employment Non-Discrimination Act and other gay civil rights measures.

Paul has suggested that the marketplace would take care of itself when
it comes to mistreatment of minorities by private business owners.
Consider this timely example from ABC News, taken from a diner in the
New York City -- hardly a bastion of anti-gay hysteria -- where almost
no one comes to the defense of two gay couples with children being
ejected from a restaurant by a waiter because of no other reason but
their sexual orientation...

The libertarian argument against the public accommodations provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, much like the "small government," "pro-business" opposition to ENDA today, is not in and of itself racist or homophobic, but it undoubtedly lends creedence and cover to those who are. And since it's still being trotted out during the civil rights battles of this era, Republican leaders should be called to task for not consigning it to where it belongs -- those late-night dormitory arguments of theory and abstract.

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Comments

Well, at least for gays and lesbians, he might have a teeny-tiny piece of a point. Unlike the federal government and the military, most of the Fortune 500 stopped discriminating against us years or decades ago.

Allowing the marketplace to police its own discrimination policies is a big mistake. Xenophobia seems to be inherent to the human condition. That does not make it right. We have laws to prevent us from just doing anything we choose and to protect us from those who behave that way. The politicians want to be politicians. They will use anyone (and thier fear of anyone) to get elected.

It's amazing that so many in that clip didn't do anything. If this was a racial issue, people would have been screaming about it, yet because it affects gay couples the discrimination is fine?

I have no trouble stating categorically that I would be one of the first people to blast the waiter and management before leaving in disgust.

I would love to see the same experiment in that clip conducted in a club or bar, aimed exclusively at younger people. I think the results would be far different, and it would reflect the real dangers gay people face more directly. Although, you'd probably have to have security staff on standby and a some guys who could handle themselves playing the gay couple.

We've done the polite exploration of homophobia, it's sanitized and relatively civil. Now lets see the raw reality of being gay, in your 20's or 30's, and facing the violence that comes with it.

Rand Paul, and other generally Right Libertarians have no problem with a Gay or Lesbian couple having a marriage ceremony in a public park or public facility with a couple of attorneys, a priest or rabbi, and scores of friends and family.
In any event, all of this is academic. Rand Paul may be a little rough around the edges, but Jack Conway, his opponent, is the John Kerry of Kentucky: worthy and dull.

Rand Paul, and other generally Right Libertarians have no problem with a Gay or Lesbian couple having a marriage ceremony in a public park or public facility with a couple of attorneys, a priest or rabbi, and scores of friends and family.
In any event, all of this is academic. Rand Paul may be a little rough around the edges, but Jack Conway, his opponent, is the John Kerry of Kentucky: worthy and dull.

It's amazing that these arguments are still being played out through government. You'd have thought that over the course of a few hundred years these very basic ideas would have been fixed by a government.

There is still an issue when gay parents walk in the streets or having a lunch at there choice restaurant. What the world needs now is love and acceptance that we live with a purpose and with respect. In the news or even in any public places like the school and establishments, gays or homosexuals are still product of prejudice and mockery. They are people who wanted to live a normal life like other people. Let us give them the space in the society.

When I began reading your article I could so easily understand what you meant to tell. Why don’t you also get into the teaching field? I am sure we all students shall pass out with flying colors, because even your articles are so simple and so easy to understand.

The matter of fact is that gays and lesbians are not really that accepted in the society, Even though they are accepted legally But still there are some that always give their discriminating thoughts for these Lesbians and Gays. But still we ought ta know is that we should give them a little respects even though these kind of people are not that recognized in the Bible but still they are Gods creations and yet still they really do deserve a little respects from everyone.

Racial discrimination is strictly prohibited. There should be a fair treatment to each and everyone. There is a law abiding on this kind of matter. It doesn't matter of who you are and what you are, as long as you are to be respected.

You are definitely correct wholesale cellular accessories, all of us should respect others for us to respect by others too and infact we're just human, we're not perfect.. Everyone deserves second and more chance.

Everyone of us has a right to live as what we are. No matter what we are and where we're from. We all want to gain respect from others, but most of us can't accept the the fact that for us to achieve it, we also have to respect them as well..

We can all sense whether were respected or you cannot. This applies for people with money and power likewise. Moreover, it is quite probable that individuals that pursue money and power are actually trying to achieve a kind of respect they not have truly felt.

A proven way you respect yourself and others is to respect personal space. Everybody has a bubble of space they keep between themselves yet others. In the event you invade their space you may make them feel uncomfortable.